This invention relates to an image recording and reproducing apparatus which is capable of recording moving image content and still image content on a recording medium, and also of reproducing each content recorded on the recording medium, and to an image reproducing method in the image recording and reproducing apparatus.
In recent years, digital broadcasting by use of a BS (Broadcasting Satellite), a CS (Communication Satellite), etc. has become popular, and along with this, a digital broadcasting receiver which is capable of receiving digital broadcasts has attracted attention. In addition, an image recording and reproducing apparatus which records data of content received by the digital broadcasting receiver on a high-capacity recording medium, such as a writing-type DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), has also been realized.
On one hand, an imaging device such as a digital still camera, which is capable of taking an image and recording it as digital data, has been widely used. There are many cases in which still image data recorded by such imaging device is transferred to a PC (Personal Computer), etc., and images are displayed on a display and printed based on this data. However, there recently has been a high demand to be able to readily browse such still images without using a PC. Further, in recent years, the Internet has been widely used, and it has become popular to browse Web pages by PC, etc., but with regard to these Web pages, there also has been a high demand that they be able to be readily browsed.
To address such demands, consideration has been given to display still image content, such as still images taken by an imaging device and Web pages, on a television receiver. For example, an image recording and reproducing apparatus may be equipped with a slot for a portable-type memory card using a non-volatile semiconductor memory, together with a function of recording received broadcast images as digital data on a high-capacity recording medium such as an HDD, and may be capable of taking in data of still images taken and recorded by a digital still camera, and of reproducing and outputting the still images. In addition, an image recording and reproducing apparatus may be equipped with a communication I/F (Interface), and may be connected to the Internet and capable of displaying Web pages.
Further, there is an image storage device which is connected through a signal connector to a digital still camera, and which takes in and stores image data recorded in this still camera, and when it receives a control signal from a television receiver through the signal connector, it reads out the stored image data and outputs still image signals based on this image data to a television receiver so that it is capable of displaying still images (e.g., see Japanese Published Application No. JP-A-2000-341614 (paragraph numbers [0057]˜[0126], FIG. 1)(corresponding U.S. publications: 2003011702, 2003011680, 2003011681, 2003011703, 2003025797, 2003025809, 2003025806, 2003035054, 2003048364)). In addition, there is a television receiver in which, when a digital still camera is mounted on a digital still camera mounting portion, image data recorded in the digital still camera is automatically transferred and stored in an internal high-capacity storage device (e.g., see, Japanese Published Application No. JP-A-2000-354227 (paragraph numbers [0183]˜[0186], FIG. 50)(corresponding U.S. publications: 2003011702, 2003011680, 2003011681, 2003011703, 2003025797, 2003025809, 2003025806, 2003035054, 2003048364)).
In addition, with regard to stored images, it is common to reproduce and display them by, for example, displaying their thumbnail images on a screen of a television receiver in the form of a list, and by selecting an arbitrary image data file from among the displayed images. Further, a display method called a slide show, in which stored image data is read out one after another and reproduced and displayed continuously at predetermined time intervals, is also known.
As described above, an image recording and reproducing apparatus equipped with a function of reproducing and outputting still images and a function of displaying still image content such as Web pages, together with a function of recording moving image content received through broadcasts on a recording medium and reproducing and outputting the content, is known. However, in such conventional image recording apparatus, the operating procedure at the time of reproducing the recorded moving images is completely different from the operating procedure at the time of reproducing still image content such as still images and Web pages. For example, an input operation to the image recording apparatus is often carried out by a remote controller, but in order to display the above-described still image content on a display device, there is a need for an operating button different from that for controlling reproduction of moving images to be disposed on the remote controller, or for the relevant function to be activated from a menu screen and a pop-up menu, etc. Accordingly, a user who is familiar with the operations for reproducing moving images is required to master unfamiliar new operations so as to display still image content and to switch screens on a case-by-case basis, and so on, which is a problem with respect to the ease and understandability of how the apparatus is operated.
In addition, when browsing Web pages, a next Web page is normally displayed by selecting a link anchor on a Web page through a user operation. But when browsing Web pages by use of a television receiver, it is not easy to specify a position where a link anchor exists, and an operation which is comfortable to a user is needed.